Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Message
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Swoooosh-
Inside the Bio Vanguard warehouse.
A gate had opened in front of Speeder.
Through it, the interior of the U.C.I.D. LA headquarters and a waiting Silverfire were visible.
Enri and Jason tossed the weapons they found in the warehouse through the gate.
Silverfire picked up the weapons coming through the gate.
They were clearly illegally modified Bluerobic weapons.
Silverfire picked up one of the weapons.
He swallowed hard.
On closer inspection, he saw it was a weapon incorporating Frontline technology.
Using this as evidence to arrest those involved would no longer be a problem.
The real problem was the fact that Frontline was providing the weapon development source from behind the scenes.
Who could it be?
Silverfire was lost in thought.
Among those he knew, there was no one who would do such a thing.
Should I ask Big Five, Gogo, or Area87...?
Silverfire looked up at Enri and the others.
"These weapons contain our technology. There must be one of our own collaborating with Bio Vanguard."
Enri stared silently at Silverfire.
A memory from the past slowly crept into her mind.
"Ah! I remember now."
"It was when I went into an underground venue called 'Goodfellas' to catch Shin-ju and Kai."
Enri looked up at the ceiling for a moment, as if recalling that time.
"There... I saw a one-eyed Frontline planetarian wearing a fedora."
She remembered the giant robot that had stopped Shin-ju from arresting Duros Graven at Goodfellas.
"One-eyed?"
"Yes. And he seemed very close to Viper."
Silverfire's expression grew complicated, as if this only confused him more.
One-eyed...? Who could that be?
Then he raised his arm and sent a message to someone.
Vmm-
A message arrived on Big Five's arm.
[Information obtained on a Frontline planetarian suspected of colluding with Bio Vanguard. Requesting confirmation. One-eyed, wears a fedora. Appears to have a close relationship with Viper.]
Big Five glanced down at his arm, then casually looked up.
He was currently in a private meeting with Viper in a reception room, accompanied by the Jackal.
"Hsssssss-."
Viper flicked his tongue, looking back and forth between Big Five and the Jackal.
"You seem to have a lot of questions about the illegal weapons distribution?"
"That's part of it."
Big Five replied nonchalantly.
"Fine. I have no intention of lying."
Viper shrugged as if he had no choice.
"So you're admitting your guilt?"
"Less admitting guilt... and more acknowledging that Earth's economy can't function without us now."
One corner of Viper's mouth curled up.
"My, my, you seem to have studied a lot of economics."
Big Five sneered slightly.
Viper paid him no mind and continued.
"On Earth, they have a saying: 'A bad law is still a law.' If something illegal benefits both parties, couldn't it become legal?"
"I don't think that's what that phrase is for. And even if such a thing were to happen, today is not that day."
"I'm sure it's not. Fine, you can arrest me."
Big Five was annoyed by his condescending attitude.
He felt like he was one step behind.
Big Five recalled the message that had just arrived from Silverfire.
"Fine. Since it's come to this, let's talk about everything right here."
Viper nodded leisurely.
"I'll answer what I can."
"Who's providing the materials for weapon development?"
"Wouldn't it be one of the Frontline planetarians?"
"I'm asking who."
Big Five couldn't hide his irritation and dropped the formalities.
"Isn't it the police's job to figure that out?"
Viper also switched to informal speech.
"...Who the hell is this one-eyed guy?"
Big Five threw out the next piece of information, testing Viper.
"Ahhh, so those guys who came to my establishment must have spilled everything."
Viper muttered, nodding as if he remembered.
"Since you're from the same Frontline home world, shouldn't you be able to find him easily?"
Big Five crossed his arms.
Arguing with Viper here and now was pointless.
He had to mobilize all his connections to root out the Frontline insider collaborating with Bio Vanguard.
"Fine. In any case, you've admitted your guilt regarding the illegal weapons distribution, so I'll proceed with the arrest."
Big Five pressed a button on his arm and made a call.
[Beep-beep-beep-beep]
A moment later, a whistle-like sound came from his arm.
"Speeder, please open a gate connected to our headquarters. We're proceeding with the arrest of Bio Vanguard's CEO, Viper."
[Beep!]
"Just a moment. I have one question for Mr. Viper."
The insectoid alien, the 'Jackal,' who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
"Hssss- You startled me... You can talk?"
Viper mocked the Jackal.
The Jackal paid him no mind, maintaining his rigid posture.
He opened his mouth.
His antennae began to twitch wildly.
"You... abducted my people here at Bio Vanguard. Is that correct?"
"Traces of biological experiments were found on my species."
Big Five's expression turned extremely serious.
"Biological experiments?? You're saying biological experiments??"
Viper's previously relaxed expression hardened.
"What kind of nonsense is that... I wouldn't cross that line."
Viper gave the Jackal a cynical look.
"Do you have any proof?"
"Proof..."
The Jackal suddenly stood up.
For a moment, Viper's face showed a flash of alarm.
Ssk-
The Jackal took off his police uniform.
As the clothes came off, his insect-like exoskeleton began to be revealed.
Seeing his body, Big Five stood up slowly, horrified.
Big Five's massive frame began to fill the room.
"What... what in the world... happened to you!!"
Tears fell from the machine elf's eyes.
Inside the bubble, she braced herself with both hands and looked down at someone. Furen was looking up at her comrade, who had become a mechanical hybrid.
Furen asked once more.
Hearing Furen's words, the machine elf's face tilted crookedly to the side.
G-g-g-g-
Then, her face began to shake violently.
It was as if her own voice was fighting against someone else's inside her.
...
Furen pressed her lips together.
Anger flickered across her face, but she quickly maintained a calm expression.
She had to remain level-headed to solve the problem.
"Fu--."
A moment later, a strange mechanical sound came from the machine elf's mouth.
Furen's eyebrow twitched.
"Fu-."
She hadn't misheard.
She took a breath and replied.
"Yes. Can you understand me?"
The machine elf managed a slight nod.
The immense mental fortitude of the Bluerobics was on full display.
"I know it's difficult... but can you explain what happened?"
Furen asked calmly.
She paused for a moment, then began to answer Furen's question, struggling with each syllable.
"Fron-li-Bio-Van-col-lab-ra-ted-."
"Frontline and Bio Vanguard collaborated."
Shin-ju understood her words.
"In-si-der-."
Suddenly, the machine elf's body shook violently.
Then she looked straight down at Furen.
The atmosphere was completely different from before.
"There's an inside traitor, Lady Furen!"
A chillingly normal voice suddenly flowed out.
It was like the sound quality from a radio that had just barely tuned into a frequency.
A light of life suddenly flickered in the machine elf's eyes.
In that instant, she returned from a 'machine' to a 'person'.
Those watching the scene felt a chill run down their spines.
"An inside traitor? A traitor----g-g-g-g-g."
Suddenly, the light of life in her eyes faded, and she reverted to the machine elf from before.
She had squeezed out the last of her mental strength to deliver that message to Furen.
"An inside traitor..."
Furen stood frozen on the spot, her eyes wide.
"Furen..."
Sharin approached Furen with a worried expression.
Meanwhile, Shin-ju was lost in thought.
The term 'inside traitor' was extremely broad.
Was it a traitor on the Bluerobic planet, or a traitor within this current group of refugees?
And...
Shin-ju formed another hypothesis.
The Nekhes. It could be referring to those so-called Dark Elves.
In his opinion, the Dark Elves were the most likely culprits.
In fact, for the past few hours, Kai's face had been floating in Shin-ju's mind.
"Lady Furen."
Shin-ju looked at Furen's back.
"We need to investigate the Nekhes."
Without turning her head, she replied in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"Isn't it possible it's not the Nekhes?"
Shin-ju bit his lower lip slightly and swallowed hard.
He wanted to rule out that possibility as much as he could.
Shin-ju calmly continued his explanation.
"That's possible, but... it would be more efficient to narrow down the investigation by starting with the Nekhes."
He remained silent for a moment before speaking bluntly to Furen, knowing he was overstepping.
"I apologize for being frank... but the suspicions you're holding right now are of no help."
Furen's back looked desolate as she listened silently to Shin-ju's words.
"It will only cause internal division among us."
"So, what should we do?"
Furen turned her head.
Her face was blank, showing no emotion.
"First, we need to get out of here."
Shin-ju looked back at the hole in the passage.
"Jekovic mentioned earlier that a draft was coming from that passage."
Then he looked back at Furen.
"It seems to be a clear exit."
Furen stood silently for a moment.
"Fine. I understand. I agree we can't do anything here."
Furen looked back at the refugees.
"We're moving forward! Don't fall behind!"
Furen and Sharin turned and entered the breached passage.
Shin-ju used Old Book to create another bubble and absorbed Katrin into it.
It was a convenient way to transport the injured without a stretcher.
The mechanical hybrids in the bubbles also followed them, slowly entering the passage.
Shin-ju wanted to find a way to save them if at all possible.
"Shin-ju."
Jekovic quietly approached him.
"What is it?"
"Up there..."
Jekovic looked up at the massive hole with an uneasy expression.
"What's wrong now?"
"...I think something's there."
"What?"
"It feels a bit like Silverfire. I think a Frontline machine race is nearby."
"Hmm... Is that so?"
If the administrator of Taumiel b1 was affiliated with Frontline, it could leave a major stain on the cooperation between Frontline and Earth.
"Alright. Let's head up and find a way to contact Silverfire."
Jekovic nodded silently.
Soon, they followed the refugees and walked into the darkness of the hole.